PolyU will continue to offer 2-year full-time UGC-funded Higher Diploma (HD) programmes in 2014-15. The aim of our HD programmes is to prepare students to acquire the appropriate attitude, knowledge and skills to support their initial employment at the para-professional level and to provide students with the necessary generic skills for further study and active citizenship.

The HD programmes consist of both specialized (e.g. learning related to concentrations, disciplines and professions, vocational skills, etc) and generic contents, the distribution of which is as follows:-

Credit requirement for graduation

60 – 75 credits

Language & Communication and General Education subjects

(15 - 18 credits)

Discipline-specific subjects

(42 - 57 credits)

Programme Duration

2 years full-time, with the possibility of a mandatory Summer Term

General Entrance Requirements

Level 2 in 5 HKDSE subjects including English Language and Chinese Language, with the following flexibilities applied:-

A maximum of 2 relevant Applied Learning (ApL) subjects, as specified by individual HD programmes, will be accepted and the recognition is as follows:-

"Attained with Distinction" to be considered as Level 3 of an HKDSE subject; and

"Attained" to be considered as Level 2

Only preferred subjects are specified by some programmes. Please click here for the list of Higher Diploma programmes and their preferred subjects, if any.

Alternative Chinese will be accepted as meeting the Chinese Language requirement for those students who fulfill the requirement for taking Alternative Chinese as announced by EDB.

Other language subjects will be accepted. The minimum requirement is Grade E.

For students who marginally miss the general entrance requirements, Level 2 or above in the extended modules of Mathematics could be considered.

Admission Selection

Students who have met the University General Entrance Requirements will be further considered for their suitability for admission to the HD programmes of their choice. The arrangements will be as follows:-

Both academic attainments and other learning experiences as expounded in the Other Experiences and Achievements (OEA) section of the JUPAS application form will be considered.

An admission score, which forms the basis for initial prioritization, will first be calculated for each applicant based on the results of the best 5 HKDSE subjects including English Language and Chinese Language, with weightings applied. For applicants who have taken extra electives, a reference score, which takes into account all their HKDSE subject attempts and with weightings applied, will also be computed for departments' reference. Departments will base on these scores, applicants' OEA information and other relevant details to identify suitable applicants for admission / interview or aptitude test.

Preferred subjects specified by each programme, if any, will be given the highest weighting.

To support the all-round development of students, applicants with very outstanding performance in other experiences and achievements (e.g. with awards / prizes attained in prominent competitions) will be favourably considered for admission, provided they have satisfied the general entrance requirements of the University.

Interviews / aptitude tests may be held before or after the release of HKDSE results. For interviews / aptitude tests to be conducted before the release of HKDSE results, shortlisting will be based on information such as OEA, school reference, school internal results, etc., provided by students and / or schools.

Popular programmes may give priority to those applicants who have shown a keen interest as indicated by their Band choices. More details on the interview / aptitude test arrangements and Band choices requirements will be released with the programme information on PolyU's website before JUPAS application opens.